Since our preview with the graphically impressive VR RPG The SoulKeeper VR back in April, we’ve been looking forward to the launch of the game. Developer HELM Systems has finally announced that the game will launch in Early Access on August 15th, and have a new trailer to accompany the announcement (heading this article).
While our experience with the old demo months ago revealed a somewhat rough implementation, we hope to see more polish resulting from continued development over the last few months. If the developers follow up on their claims of fleshing things out, The SoulKeeper VR could be one of the first VR RPG games that heavily pushes the graphics as well as gameplay and story. The demo didn’t have any story elements, but the trailer hints at some of what we may see in the full game with characters and voice acting.
While the graphics and universe HELM Systems is crafting might be the most exciting, a game needs good gameplay. The game’s sword & spells combat was interesting upon our play of the older build—especially with the ability to cast spells by drawing symbols in the air—but unfortunately felt to be lacking quite a bit of polish in mechanics. Since it’ll release in Early Access, we expect to see see an experiences that’s rough around the edges, but hope that feedback from early-adopters will lead to further improvements.
While we wait excitedly for The SoulKeeper VR, another notable VR RPG, The Mage’s Tale, launched this week for the Oculus Rift.